The Legend of Fire and Lightning
by lovelyBRN13
Summary: Five years before the beginning of the series, they were chosen. Five years later, destiny has thrown them together, but their paths have diverged greatly. They must save their world, even with the differences...but, can they, even with the most difficult decisions to make? Rated T for mild violence and because I'm paranoid.
1. Prologue

**Hello, and welcome to my Phineas and Ferb fanfic, "The Legend of Fire and Lightning." This is actually a reboot of an old story that I did, but it's not on my FF account, just my deviantArt account.**

**Full summary, in case it doesn't fit: Five years before the beginning of the series, they were chosen. Five years later, destiny has thrown them together, but their paths have diverged greatly. They must save their world, even with the differences...but, can they, even with the most difficult decisions to make?**

**Don't worry, those of you waiting for The Courtroom Phantom and Project Dawnstars, updates on those shuld be coming soon, mainly with Project Dawnstars, because that one really needs to be updated...**

**That being said, Phineas, Ferb, and other related characters do not belong to me. They belong to Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. The only things I own are the OCs and the story.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>The human heart. It is a weak, yet strong part of the body. It keeps humans alive, functioning, both physically and mentally.<p>

Yet, it can also be easily manipulated. Even if one does not have a heart, if they have a strong resolve and will, they can survive without a heart.

But, manipulation isn't the only thing to destroy a heart. It can easily succumb to powerful feelings of false hope and utter despair. Things that live inside humans, devour them from the inside out, turn them into monsters of pure evil.

Hope is the only thing to keep a human from falling forever into darkness. The light inside, even the smallest glimmer, can hold a heart steady.

Such a curious thing, the human heart...

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><p>"...Even at the end of the world, it can still be bold and keep the human alive." She said quietly. She was in a large cave, the walls covered in drawings. She stood back up from where she had been kneeling, the ancient lettering standing out.<p>

"Are you ready to go yet?" A voice asked from outside the cave. She turned and faced the entrance of the cave, smiling.

"This might be the last time you ever see this place." She said. "Why are you so anxious all of a sudden?"

"I just feel like we should hurry up and get moving, is all." The voice replied. "Come on. We'd better get moving."

"Alright. Go ahead without me, I'll be out in a few minutes." She said, and knelt down again. The person outside muttered something under their breath, then walked away. She found a sharp rock and carved something in the wall, then walked out, as well.

It was a picture of a bolt of lightning, a flame, and a door, all on a blank wall on a far off side of the cave. On the top of the door were the words, "open if you must, but beware the connections."

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><p>Five-year-old Phineas Flynn awoke to find himself shrouded in darkness. He looked around, but there was no one but him. It felt like he was underwater-his ears were clogged, making any possible sound feel muffled and far away. He took a step forward.<p>

Suddenly, everything became bright, and he realized that he wasn't alone. There was a girl standing a little ways away, wearing a white dress. Her ultramarine eyes were dull and opaque, and she hadn't seemed to notice Phineas.

"Hey..." Phineas called out. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

There was no response from the girl, so Phineas decided to walk towards her. As soon as he took a step, however, everything was plunged into darkness once more, the girl looking at him with a terrified expression on her face.

_With each step you make, you decide your fate. _A voice said inside Phineas' head. _You have to choose. Do you want to be in the darkness, or the light? Whatever the girl has chosen is not important. Your choice is. Do you take another step, or stay here?_

Phineas thought about it for a moment, then took another step forward. Everything became light again.

_You choose the light over the darkness. Your heart is strong, but with a weak will. It will be hard to survive this way. Are you sure about your choice? _The voice asked.

"Yes." Phineas said. "My path is in the light. I can make my will stronger. I will survive this way."

_Think with your heart, not with your mind. _The voice cautioned. _You may think that this is your destiny, but does your heart agree? Does this really feel right to you?_

"Yes, it does. It feels right to be on this side." Phineas replied.

_Very well, then. _The voice said. _Your destiny has been set. Will you follow the path you've chosen, or stray from it? Only the true nature of your heart will decide..._

A fierce wind blew through everything, pushing Phineas back. He fell backwards, and darkness engulfed him once more...

* * *

><p>Isabella stood in the midst of the flames, in shock. There was no way out, and even if there was, she would surely be fighting Phineas for it. Her heart shaped pendant sung and thumped wildly against her chest as she looked around desperately.<p>

A scientist struggled to crawl away, coughing on the black smoke that filled the room. She dropped down to the floor and attempted to crawl over to him, but a large fireball blew her back. She stood back up and faced Phineas.

"Why are you doing this to all of these innocent people?" Isabella cried out. "They did nothing wrong!"

"They did everything wrong!" Phineas yelled at her, shaking his head. The crown shaped pendant around his neck shook along with it. "They made us into monsters, and innocent people died from this. Why are you siding with them?"

"Because more innocent people will die if you keep doing this!" Isabella shouted. There was a silence that swept over the two of them after that. The only sound they heard was the crackling of the fire around them.

After a while, Phineas turned away from her. "Very well, then. You can have your precious mortals, who you see as innocent, and I can have the others like me, who are truly filled with light." He ran off through the flames and smoke.

Isabella, on the other hand, stayed. Suddenly, somebody donned in a heavy black coat with a deep hood shielding their face from view came up to her.

"You poor child." They said. "You're so lost from the light and the dark. You walk a strange path of in between."

"What does that mean?" Isabella asked defensively. "If I have to fight you, I will!"

The hooded figure laughed. "Fight? With what? You have no power to wield in your hands. The only thing you can use your power on is people's hearts."

"Stay away from me." Isabella sneered. "I could kill you if I wanted to..."

"Yes, you could, in your mind, but would your heart ever let that guilt slip away?" The hooded figure asked. Isabella gasped in surprise. "You only thought with your mind, which is steeped in darkness. Your heart fights it with it light and innocence. That's why you walk between the two."

Isabella was silent. She thought about for a moment, then nodded.

"So, you see how it is, then. However, I can give you a power to wield physically, to use as a weapon." The hooded figure went on.

"What do I have to do for that power?" Isabella demanded.

"Sign a contract with me, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro." The hooded figure replied. "If you do, then I'll give you the power you crave, the power to stave off the darkness slowly growing with you."

Isabella nodded. "I'll do it. I'll sign a contract with you."

"Excellent." The hooded figure said, a smile in their voice. They extended their hand. "Take my hand, and the contract will be signed."

Isabella hesitated, then finally, slowly, took the hooded figure's hand. At that moment, a bolt of lightning struck the air, and rain pelted down. Pain shot through her body, and she collapsed, her energy drained.

"Happy doing business with you, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro." The hooded figure said, then opened a swirling blue and black portal and left, chuckling softly to themselves. Sirens soon filled the air, and firefighters came to put out the fire. Isabella was taken to the hospital, but was somehow unharmed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on the outskirts on Liverpool, England, a young couple ran through the downpour, lightning streaking across the sky. Cars' headlights blinded them, but they still ran, not stopping until they reached the far off mansion.<p>

The girl went in first, then the boy. The girl's parents ran down the stairs at the sight of them.

"Oh, Kathleene, what on earth happened to you?" The mother asked, embracing her. She noticed the little boy in her arms. "Who's this?"

"I'd ask who the older boy is, as well." The girl's father asked. "He has a girl with her."

"We found them on the street, sir." The older boy said. "The boy was unconscious, but the girl was awake. She fell asleep on the way over here."

"They're not street urchins. Look at their clothes." Kathleene went on, holding out the boy. "Look at the necklaces. It's some kind of weird insignia."

"We think they might've escaped from somewhere." The boy said, brushing some of the girl's hair out of her face. "But, it says on the back of her dress that this institution this dress was from is in America."

"Institution?" The father grumbled. "What kind of institution?"

"From the name, it sounds like some sort of research facility." Kathleene replied. "It's called the Elements Project."

"Well, then, I suppose we should find out who these kids are." Kathleene's mother said. "Come on. Let's take them to the lab."

At that moment, the girl woke up. She looked around, confused.

"Oh, you're awake." The older boy said, gently placing her on the floor. "Are you well enough to walk? What's your name?"

The little girl stood up, then tears started to form out the corner of her eyes. "I...I don't know...I don't my name, I don't know anything..."

"It's okay." Kathleene said to her, kneeling down. "We'll find out who you are. Don't worry." She stood back up and turned to her parents. "Let's begin the tests on the boy now. She's had a rough day, so let's start on her tomorrow morning."

Kathleene's parents nodded, then took the boy from her and walked downstairs. Kathleene, the little girl, and the other boy walked upstairs.

"So, are your parents doctors or scientists or something?" The boy asked.

"Both." Kathleene replied coolly. They stopped in front a room in the front of the hallway. "This will be your room for tonight. Tomorrow, we run the tests on the girl, and all three of you will go home."

"Um, alright." The boy replied, surprised by her sudden change in demeanor. "Goodnight, then."

Kathleene nodded and walked away with the other girl to the far end of the hallway. She stopped in front of two rooms across from each other.

"This room right here is my room, and the one across from it is yours." Kathleene said. "Tomorrow, we're going to see if we can figure out who you are so you can see your parents and go home, okay?"

"Okay." The little girl said. "Are the tests going to hurt?"

"No, not at all." Kathleene replied. "It'll be like you're that little boy. Fast asleep. You won't feel anything."

"Um...I won't stay asleep as long as he is, right?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That boy's been asleep for days and days, and hasn't woken up, no matter how loud I yell at him."

"How long exactly has he been asleep? Do you know?"

"Um...seven...or eight...or nine...? I don't remember that very clearly."

"I...I see. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

As soon as the little girl closed the door to her room, Kathleene ran downstairs to her parents' lab. The lab was a large, crowded space, filled with various machines and monitors. In a metallic white pod with a transparent teal lid was the little boy, a red laser scanner sweeping across his body.

"Kathleene..? What the...?!" Her father exclaimed in shock.

"You need to stop the tests!" Kathleene said. "That boy's in a coma!"

"I found a match on both of them." Kathleene's mother replied. "How long has he been in a coma for?"

"Let me see those results." Kathleene's father said. He brought up the image on a bigger monitor. "There's two images here, one of them from America. It seems as if they went missing around the same time."

The images were missing children posters, one from London and the other from a town called Danville.

"My main concern is why on earth did they go through all the trouble?" Kathleene's father mumbled. "If the kidnappers were from America, like that boy thought, then why not just kidnap four American kids? Why them? Is there something about them that makes them targets...?"

* * *

><p>The little girl woke up to find a mysterious figure in a heavy hooded black coat sitting in a chair next to her bed calmly.<p>

"Relax, my dear child." The hooded figure said. "I mean you no harm."

"Who are you?" She asked. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm here to give you this." The hooded figure replied, and held up a card, with the girl's face on it. "It's your memories. Also, a special power. Something that you need to quell the inner struggle you're already facing." The girl was confused. "You have inside your heart light. A lot of light. But, that leaves you weak to very bad things. Dark things. With this power that I have, I can make you not weak to the dark, and still be strong in the light."

"Can I still have the light in my heart?" She asked. "Can I still have a lot of light?"

"Of course you can." The hooded figure said. "And your memories, too. Do you want to see what your parents would think of you if you didn't know who they were?"

The little girl shook her head. "Gimme! I want to not be afraid of the dark, and to remember who I am!"

"Good. I'm glad you want those things." The hooded figure said, and took her hand. A strange sensation, like being filled up with a freezing cold liquid, went up the girl's spine. The darkness in the room surrounded her, and she fell back onto her bed, unconscious. The hooded figure opened a portal, and was gone.

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><p>Later on the next day, Kathleene noticed that both the girl's and boy's necklaces were gone. The girl asked her about what necklace she was talking about, as she had no recollection of ever getting one. The same was with Phineas and Isabella.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

**Yes, this isn't Project Danwstars. I know.**

**The thing is, I really wanted to work on this, so here, a new chapter.**

**Oh, and thank you for leaving reviews! I hope you keep liking it as it goes on.**

**I tried something different with the first scene. Is it okay...? I've never really tried the vague, choppy style before. I hope it's not too bad.**

**One last thing: There's a lot element that ties into another story that I'm going to be writing, hopefully soon, when I don't have a million things going on at once/when this is over. As well as that, there is an OC named Emily in this. She is mine, just inspired by Melty's OC of the same name. So, before you start whining to me about this OC, I'm going to tell you to read the author's comments, because, yes, I am aware that there is another blonde Ferb love interest named Emily. Mine was inspired by the other one.**

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><p><strong>Phineas Flynn and other related characters belong to Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and Disney. The OCs and the story belongs to me.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Welcome to your new lives<strong>

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><p>Darkness.<p>

That's what surrounded Phineas when he was aware of his surroundings.

He was completely eclipsed in darkness.

He took a step forward, expecting something, anything to happen.

Nothing did.

Phineas continued to walk in the darkness, silent.

The darkness soon changed its shape into a town.

Danville.

The darkness was changing into Danville.

But, this Danville was grey. Blank. Ghost-like.

"This town is empty." A young girl's voice said. Phineas looked around. Nobody in sight.

Phineas walked around, looking for the owner of the voice.

"There used to be people here, but they are now gone." The voice continued. "They were consumed by 'it.' 'It' was telling them to trust 'it.' Now, this city is gone. Eaten away by the spirit of 'it,' which can never be truly satisfied."

Phineas ran down an alleyway to find a young girl standing there, reading from a small book in her hands. Her back to Phineas, unaware.

"This town is empty, so I will keep searching." She said. Her short brown hair blew about her softly. "Searching for a town with people in it, one that has not been consumed by 'it.' Searching for the one for me, and only me." She turned a page. "The one for me, and only me is the only one to defeat 'it.' Not only that, but the one for me and only me... also holds onto my heart." She turned around, her opaque eyes glued on Phineas, her voice distorted with Isabella's. "Tell me, are you the one who took it?"

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><p>Phineas sat upright and gasped, holding his head in his hands. He looked around his room, half asleep. Ferb was still fast asleep, Perry on his bed. He woke up and walked over to Phineas' bed, chattering. Phineas smiled and patted the bed, which Perry knew as in invitation to come up.<p>

"I'm fine, Perry." Phineas said, petting him softly. He laid back down again. "It was just a bad dream..."

As Phineas drifted off to sleep, he thought about the dream, and how much darkness had surrounded him during it.

"A dream filled with the stench of darkness..." Phineas muttered, and soon, he was asleep once again.

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><p>The next day, Isabella walked into the backyard to find Phineas sitting underneath the tree alone, fast asleep. She smiled at the sight of him.<p>

_He's like a cat, sleeping whenever he wants to..._ She thought, giggling softly.

She walked in front of him, bent down, and said, "Now, how'd I know that you'd be sitting under this tree, snoozing?"

Phineas woke up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Gwah!" He said suddenly, moving to the side. "Hey, Isabella. I don't sleep under here all the time..."

"Oh, please, almost every time Ferb's not here, you're asleep right in this spot." Isabella replied, laughing and sitting down next to him. "So, besides taking a nap, what'cha doin' today?"

"I don't know." Phineas answered, putting his hands behind his head. "Ferb's going to be gone all day since he's hanging out with Emily, then doing a few errands for Mom. It's a shame, because we were going to finish that rocket today, so that we could go into space and everything. That's alright, though, I guess. It can wait."

"Phineas, let's finish it together and leave, right now!" Isabella said, looking at him, smiling.

"Wait, what?" Phineas asked.

Isabella giggled. "I'm kidding, Phineas. You're so gullible sometimes, you know?"

"Not all the time..." Phineas said.

"Ferb's changed." Isabella said suddenly. She looked up at the sky, her ultramarine eyes shining with a sudden look of sadness. "He just...doesn't really seem like himself lately, you know?"

"You're the one that's been changing, Isabella." Phineas said. "Though, maybe it's just all of us."

"Perhaps." She said. There was a pause. "Phineas, don't change. I like you just how you are right now." Isabella added. She stood up. "Come on, let's go the mall. No use just sitting here being all depressing, right?"

Phineas got up, as well. "I agree. I'll go ask Mom if it's okay."

Linda was busy tossing salad in the kitchen when Phineas and Isabella walked in.

"Oh, Isabella, are you and Phineas planning something today?" She asked as she poured a little extra virgin olive oil in the salad. "A date, maybe?"

"I-It's not a date!" Both of them exclaimed at the same time. Linda laughed.

"That's the exact same reaction Ferb and Emily had." She said. "So, where are two you headed?"

"The mall." Phineas said. "Is that all right with you?"

"Sure. You're taking the bus, right? Do you need fare, or are you going to use your school passes? Oh, I almost forgot, Candace and Jeremy are there on a date, so if you see them, don't bother them, okay?" Linda said hurriedly, looking for her purse. "Do you need any money?"

"No, we both have about, what twenty-five dollars each?" Isabella said. Phineas agreed. "Yeah, so we'll be fine. Thanks for offering, though!"

"Okay, have fun, and be back by sundown, alright?" Linda called out as they left. "You know how I am about having you out after dark on your own."

"Okay, we'll be back by then!" Phineas shouted back. "Hey, Isabella, first to tag the bus stop sign wins!"

"You're on!" Isabella replied, and they took off, laughing. At first, it was Isabella in the lead, then Phineas gained the advantage in the corner. Isabella caught up downhill, and it was neck and neck afterwards.

As they turned the second corner, Isabella noticed out of the corner of her eye the bus, slowly lumbering along.

"Look's like our race has gained a new competitor!" Isabella said, running faster.

A few yards ahead was the bus stop sign. Phineas and Isabella reached out their hands to tag it, and they grabbed it at the same time, then ran around it, showing their school passes to the bus driver and sitting down, laughing softly.

"Why can't we do stuff like that more often?" Isabella asked, leaning her head against the window. She watched the scenery change from the suburbs to downtown.

"Act like normal kids, you mean?" Phineas asked. "I don't know. We just try so hard to seize the day in every way we can that we just...forget, I guess. Forget we're kids, and act like something we're not. All just to make the day more fun and memorable."

"I'm sorry." Isabella suddenly said. The bus stopped, and more people got on. "I'm trying to change you, aren't I? After I said that you were fine just the way you were, too..."

"No, it's alright." Phineas said. "I know what you mean." The bus started moving again. "You're so filled with light that you trick yourself into a feeling of naivety and poor self-esteem. Because of that, you try to act as kind as you can be."

"Oh?" Isabella asked. "So, what are you filled with?"

"Light." Phineas replied, looking out the window. He reached up and pulled the cord to have the bus stop. "Light...and dark."

* * *

><p>"So, we've arrived, have we?" Gaia said, looking out the window. She turned towards the young man leaning against the window across from her. "Aeor, have you picked up their scents?"<p>

Aeor looked up, his long dark blue hair flopping into his misty pale sky blue eyes. "We've been following that same scent for five years, Major. It has all but faded by now."

"You mean that we've just been following some stale scents for all these years, then?" Another officer asked. His short dark chestnut hair was in a bun and kept out of his face. "What good are you to us, then?"

"He's important because he can track down the scents better than we can, and you know it, Le." A young woman said, tying her navy blue hair up in a ponytail. "Besides, he's the only one who can talk to the songbird. That should really be the only thing to keep him alive, you know."

"Andressa's right, you know." Gaia said. "The Elements are useless without the songbird's power. Speaking of which, Andressa, how is the songbird doing? Is she finally doing as we asked?"

"Yes, she's finally started." Andressa said, sighing. "Seriously, it's like pulling teeth with her to get her to follow orders. She says that the first signs of corruption should appear soon."

"Excellent." Gaia said. "Now, if only we knew where they were... Aeor, keep searching for those scents. We need to find them, and soon."

* * *

><p>"So, they're around here, right?" Misti asked. She looked at the readings on the monitors again. "I'm not seeing them on these readings. That might be just because their powers are still dormant, though. Vince, are you ready for the power starts?"<p>

"As ready as I'll ever be." Vince said. "Help me calibrate them to hit all of them at once."

"Alright. I'll give you the signal when we're ready." Misti said, laying down the four files she was looking at. "Finally, we'll be able to achieve this goal at long last...we have to do this before they show up. If they get here while we're setting this up, it's all over."

"I'm quite aware of that." Vince said. "Now, then, let's get started..."

* * *

><p>Phineas and Isabella walked around the food court, silent.<p>

"Come on, let's go and look at some other stores for a bit." Isabella said, practically pulling Phineas away. "We can come back to the food court later."

"No, it's not that...it's..." Phineas said, trailing off. "Darkness...the scent of darkness is everywhere..."

"What?" Isabella asked. She turned around to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean that there's an unusual amount of resentment in the air right now." Phineas hastily explained. "I guess it's one of my powers due to being part dark. I can sense the dark auras of people. Not to mention, I can pinpoint the scent of darkness, and right now, there's a lot of it in this room, and I'm not sure why."

"So, you think that something's going to happen because of this collection of darkness?" Isabella asked. Phineas let go of her hand and walked over to the center of the food court. "I'm guessing that's a yes."

As Phineas and Isabella walked over the center of the food court, somebody accidentally bumped into them, dropping something on the floor. She muttered a half rushed apology and ran off.

"Hey, wait, you dropped these!" Phineas called out, running after her.

"Oh, you can keep them. My friends, who I got them for, didn't want them." She said, then ran off again. Phineas looked at what she had dropped. They were two necklaces, one shaped like a crown, the other shaped like a heart, with an X in the middle.

"Oh, Phineas, what'cha got there?" Isabella asked as she walked over. She looked at the necklaces. "Ooh, pretty!"

"That lady who dropped them said we could have them." Phineas said. "I'll get the crown, if that's okay with you."

"Alright, then." Isabella said, picking up the heart-shaped necklace. They put their necklaces on, then looked over to see Candace and Jeremy sitting in the food court, Candace looking at them with frightened eyes.

"Candace...?" Phineas asked. Suddenly, a large shock went through him, causing him to fall to the ground. He slowly got up, panting slightly. He walked forward, then passed out, just a large earthquake hit the mall, causing everybody to panic.

"Ph-Phineas?!" Isabella cried out, then sank to her knees, weary. It felt as if all the energy in her was being slowly sucked out of her. The room swung and pitched helplessly, and Isabella gradually let her eyes close, slipping into darkness...

* * *

><p>Ferb and Emily walked through the park, laughing. They each wore a necklace shaped like a splintered, upside-down heart.<p>

Emily said something, and Ferb nodded. He looked up, then suddenly grabbed Emily just as a large earthquake hit, causing panic to spread. Ferb just held onto Emily silently, then the two of them passed out, their necklaces glowing slightly.

* * *

><p>The songbird sat in her cage, holding her sketchbook out in front of her. She sighed as she put the finishing touches on her drawing, drew her knees up to her chest and put her head down.<p>

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice monotone and hollow. "I have no choice but to do this. I'm so sorry..." She suddenly sat up and crawled over to the edge of her cage. "Those scents... They've awakened again..." She sat back and began to draw again, almost feverishly. "I must escape from here...I must save this Story...!"


	3. Chapter 2

**I might as well try my best to explain this now, but I don't know if it will make any sense until chapter 3.**

**I'm not breaking the fourth wall, the Story is literally a part of the story. If this makes any sense. It's an important plot element, and all will be explained soon. Kind of. I'm rambling now, if you haven't been able to tell.**

**Also, my word count is going down with each chapter, and I have no idea why. I'm also not going to put the copyright stuff since I just put it down a few times already, and this is all part of one story. Thank you for the review, and I hope you enjoy this apparently short chapter!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Aftermath<strong>

* * *

><p>"Vince, look at these readings." Misti said, her voice full of alarm. Vince walked over in confusion. "Look at this. These are hers, but they don't match up to the same readings five years ago. Both of the boys' readings are fine, but the girls'...the girls' are all mixed up. Did something happen to them that we just don't know about?"<p>

"I suppose, but only they have the power to change their elements, and even if they did, it doesn't make sense." Vince said, leaning back. "You know what? Let's go find them. Besides, they're probably after them, now that their powers have awoken again. We need to see if those readings bear any relevance to the events of that night."

"Yes, you're right." Misti replied. "Let's go. I'll take the mall, and you take the park."

"Alright, then." Vince said. "Deal."

* * *

><p>"Major Gaia, I have caught onto their scents again." Aeor said. "But...two of the scents are quite strange. It's like they're different from before."<p>

"Different how?" Le asked.

"One of them is filled with light, when it was originally filled with darkness. Then, there's the other one...that one has an equal amount of light and dark in it. Not to mention, the scent of light carries a sharp twinge to it. Something that punctuates, then fades away, but lingers afterwards." Aeor said, thinking deeply. "But, I'm sure that these are the same people that we've been following. There's no mistaking it."

Andressa then ran in, looking worried. "The songbird has vanished!"

* * *

><p>Emily was the first one to wake between her and Ferb. She sat down a little ways away and retied her ponytail, which had come loose. As she undid her bow, she wondered what had happened. It had seemed to her like it was just a giant blur, and she didn't remember much.<p>

Ferb then woke up, shaking his head a little. He saw Emily, then gently took the ribbon from her and tied it in the front.

"There." He said. "That's better." He took a picture of Emily and showed it to her.

"You're right. It does look better this way." Emily said. She gently touched the navy blue ribbon in her hair. "It's just that...Dad doesn't like it this way because it reminds him of Mom. That's why I always wear it in a ponytail." Ferb blinked in response. "I know, I wear it like this sometimes, but that's because sometimes when Dad and I fight, it's usually over what happened to Mom. I always blame myself, because I...I was there. I could've prevented it somehow, but I didn't. I just watched, and did nothing at all to stop everything from happening."

Rebecca Kinney, Emily's mother, had died when Emily was younger in an accident involving the lab she worked at. Emily had been a witness to the whole thing, but didn't remember much of what happened.

"Describe her for me." Ferb said. It was a kind of exercise he and Emily did. If one of them got stressed over a memory of a certain person, then the other would ask to describe the person they were thinking about.

"Well, she looked a lot like me." Emily said. "Except her hair was longer, and a few shades lighter than mine. It was also very glossy, and smooth, and oh, so soft. I remember my hands getting tangled up in it whenever I was upset and she would bend down and pick me up. It was like silk. But, it was also thin. So thin, I felt like I could break off a large chunk very easily." Emily's hair was outrageously thick, and mousy. She sighed and continued. "But, her eyes were always filled with such a kind grace, it was as if one look from them would instantly make you feel calmer. She also never wore makeup, because she said that it hid your true self from the world. Mom had such a wild, free spirit. She taught me how to value nature, and to see the light in the darkness."

A young man walked up to them, with dark chestnut brown hair and dull moss green eyes. He wore a black shirt and dark blue jeans with a lab coat overtop.

"You're Ferb Fletcher and Emily Kinney, right?" He asked. "My name is Vince. Is it alright if I talk to you two for a bit?" He held out a picture, which had in it himself, a young woman with light lavender hair, her hair tied in a ponytail near the base of her head, another young man with lighter brown hair and glasses, a third young man with a wiry face and dark copper hair, another young woman with thick curly black hair, tied back with a dark green bow, and a third young woman with light blonde hair which flowed behind her majestically. All of them had lab coats on, and were standing around a podium, the banner above it reading, "The Elements Project- A New Future For All of Society."

"Do you recognize the people in this photo?" Vince asked.

* * *

><p>"Well, the woman with the lavender hair is obviously you." Phineas said. Misti nodded. She, Phineas, and Isabella were sitting on a nearby bench, still in the mall. "The man with the glasses is Dad, the woman with the bow in her hair is Isabella's mom, and I've heard enough descriptions of Emily's mom to know that the last woman in the picture is her. Now, the man with the copper hair looks a lot like me, so I'm guessing he's my biological father, and I don't know who the last man is."<p>

"He's my husband, Vince." Misti replied. "But, yes, you got them all correct. Your skills of observation are amazing."

"But, what's the Elements Project?" Isabella asked. "And how do we know that you're not some kind of crazy stalker?"

"Do you think I fabricated this photo, then?" Misti asked. "Let me ease your mind, then. There are no other pictures of Daniel Flynn after this one. In fact, tomorrow is seven years after the day this picture was taken. See?" She pointed to the time stamp on the back of the picture. "Tomorrow, he will be declared MIA. He will no longer exist, the feds will stop trying to track him down."

"Track him down? For what?" Isabella asked, but was cut off by Phineas.

"No, you're wrong." Phineas said. "Tomorrow marks seven years of his death. He was killed trying to protect a little kid from being run over by car. It was really rainy that day, and the driver lost control of his car. His brakes were really bad, so he couldn't stop. He pushed the girl out of the way, and he got hit instead. That girl he saved...is the one who's sitting right next to me."

"I don't...remember that..." Isabella whispered. "But, Phineas, how do you remember something like that?"

"It just popped into my head, suddenly." Phineas explained. "I remember it being all over the news and everything. It was just after you moved to Danville."

As Phineas and Isabella talked, Misti noticed somebody watching them. She quietly excused herself, then walked over to her, sitting alone at a small table, holding a small sketchbook close to her chest. She wore a heavy black coat, her hood partially off her head.

"I can't stop it once it starts." The teenager said. "The Story must remain linear. If I try to undo anything, I'd be messing with the Story's flow. It wouldn't get to The End. Even though I'm powerful enough to stop what I've started, and that Phineas wouldn't have to undergo treatment that long to fix what I've done, the Story would never have The End it's supposed to. Such is the fate of the Storyteller with feelings."

"...Storyteller...?" Misti asked.

"Yes. Perhaps you've heard of me." She said. "I have no name, but they all call me the Songbird. I am the most powerful Storyteller to exist."

* * *

><p>Where could she have gone to?" Gaia asked, pacing back and forth. "Aeor, have you tracked down her scent yet?"<p>

"No, not yet, Major Gaia." Aeor replied. "However, if my hunch is correct, she could be with one of the ones we're looking for."

"Ah, yes." Andressa said. "We know how much emotional attachment she has to her puppets in her games. She's probably monitoring the one we asked to corrupt as we speak."

"The best part is that she can't undo the corruption because if she did, she wouldn't be able to reach The End." Le put in. "So, we can get her back and the first part of the Story under our control in one swipe."

"Excellent plan." Gaia said. "Go, you three, and get the Songbird back. I'm depending on you to make this a success."

The three of them saluted, then Aeor opened a portal, and disappeared.

"I hope they can do this. We need the Songbird..." Gaia whispered.

* * *

><p>Vince, Ferb, and Emily met up with Misti, Phineas, Isabella, and the Songbird at Vince and Misti's mobile lab around the same time.<p>

"Who's this?" Vince asked when he saw their third companion.

"I am called the Songbird." She said. "It's nice to meet you." She spoke with a soft voice, with a heavy monotone in it.

"Yes, well, we need to explain a few things. A lot of things, really." Vince said. Misti nodded softly in agreement.

"As do I." The Songbird replied. The seven of them entered the van, which was filled with all sorts of instruments, monitors, and wires.

"Sorry for the cramped space." Misti said. "We're used to having two in here at a time."

"Well, let's see here..." Vince muttered, sitting down in front of two monitors. "Huh? There's an email in here. No subject, but the address isn't one for spam, and there's some attached images..." He opened the file and gasped.

There were four photos in the file, two pictures being shown on each monitor. The first picture was of a younger Phineas in a test tube, oxygen bubbles all around him. The second was of Ferb, being placed in a small pod of some sort, a monitor showing a full body scan next to him. The third picture was of Emily, in profile view, being held up in the air by a series of wires in the ceiling. She was bent over, her arms dangling by her side, her legs close to her chest, and her hair flowing softly around her.

The fourth picture, however, was what intrigued everyone the most. It was of Isabella, sitting on a table on her knees, being held up by a series of wires along her spine, head, and arms. Also in the picture was Vivian, her hair up in a high ponytail, holding one of Isabella's arms and monitoring something in her bloodstream. Out of the four pictures, it was the only one that actually showed one of the scientists in full view.

There was a sudden clang of the door opening, and everyone turned to see Isabella running out of the van, tears streaming down her face.

_I thought that it couldn't be true, but was I wrong? _Isabella thought._ My own mother...she used me as part of her experiments, didn't she...?_

"Mom!" She cried as she ran into her house. "Mom, I know you're here right now. Where are you? We really need to talk, and I would prefer it to be now!"

As soon as Isabella finished her sentence, a large bolt of lightning shot up from the ground where she stood, covering the floor in blue electrical currents. Vivian walked in, as well as Vince, Misti, and the others.

"So, I was right." Misti said. "Your and Emily's powers have changed..."

"That would be because of me." The Songbird said. "I guess I'd better explain everything about me now."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Story**

* * *

><p>The Songbird sat down at the table in the kitchen nook of the Garcia-Shapiro house, the others following. She sighed, then began her explanation.<p>

"I do not have a name." She said. "Even if I was created with one, I am not sure of it. As I know, I am nameless due to the fact that my entire existence lies in the shadows. They do, however, call me the Songbird. I am the most powerful Storyteller to exist in these worlds."

"What exactly is a Storyteller?" Emily asked. She looked over towards the couch in the living room, where Isabella was, unconscious. After Vince, Misti, and Vivian calmed her down, she had passed out.

"A Storyteller is somebody similar to I guess what you call The Fates." The Songbird explained. "We spin tales of the different worlds that exist within each universe. Each Story we write with our magic unfolds before our very eyes, and with our additional powers, we can create great tales of adventure, or horrible webs of destruction. Whatever we desire and write on our paper becomes what you call reality."

"So, are somebody who doesn't exactly exist, then?" Phineas asked. "I mean, with what you're describing, it almost sounds like that you transcend human life, that you're somebody who lives in a different plane from us."

"Yes, when you put it that way, it does sound like us Storytellers." The Songbird said. Vivian placed in front of everyone tea cups and saucers. "But, in truth, we are all human. There is no Storyteller that lives as a mere concept in the eyes of humans, although we are just myths ourselves in our ways of being an actual thing. However, our existence is indeed human. We just happen to have powers that transcend human capabilities."

"And their powers?" Vince questioned. Vivian started pouring black tea into the tea cups, scents of fragrant herbs and spices coming from it. "I'm supposing you know where they came from?" The Songbird simply nodded.

"So, what was the Elements Project?" Emily asked, taking some sugar and pouring it into her tea and stirring it around with a spoon. "Why were so many of our parents involved in it?"

"The Elements Project was an experiment to try to create the perfect human being." Vivian explained, sitting down. "We needed a set of genes that were completely random, so when I, Linda, Victoriaa, and Rebecca got pregnant, we decided to use you in it. Misti was also supposed to contribute, but she miscarriaged. However, the project lasted for five long years, and with excellent results. We managed to merge certain elements with the power of your hearts, linking them to sustain extremities any normal human would've died from in mere hours."

"However, the powers themselves were accidents." Misti said. She took a small sip of her tea. "We were trying to sync your bloodwork when something happened and we eventually figured out that the experiments had unlocked something hidden in each of your hearts. A power built upon the light and dark sides of your hearts and minds."

Vince picked up where Misti had left off. "Phineas, your mind shone with light, but your heart was steeped in darkness, though there was a small spark growing deep inside you. You got the power of fire. Isabella's case was the opposite, and her mind was overpowering her heart. She got the power to control despair. Ferb and Emily, however, both walked very different paths. They exist on neither the light or dark, and the twilight in between. They just simply don't get themselves involved, and thus, were directionless. Ferb got the power of wind, and the ability to manipulate the darkness inside a person's heart. His ability allowed him to find a purpose, which was to stave the hunger for darkness Phineas' heart craved. Emily still doesn't have a purpose or ability, but she shown with plenty of innocence. We gave her the power of controlling light and hope."

"The new powers were where I came in." The Songbird said, taking a sip of tea. "With Isabella's growing light in her heart, I knew that having the power of despair would slowly destroy her. I took her power and gave her the power of lightning instead. With Emily, since she was directionless, she needed an equilibrium situation. So, I gave her Isabella's power of despair and had her keep her original power of hope. She can now control the light and the dark."

"Well, you still haven't fully explained the Story yet." Misti said after a moment. "What exactly is the Story?"

The Songbird set her teacup down and looked up. "The Story is just simply that-the story that is told in that particular world. Ferb, your new theory for the universe wasn't too far off, you know. I'm quite impressed."

After a few confused looks from the others, Phineas and Emily explained.

"Ferb's theory about the universe was that we're all set in separate worlds contained in one universe." Emily began. "Several are almost similar, with minute changes. Those are all in the center, bunched together. However, there are worlds that have bigger changes than others. They're around the worlds with smaller changes, but not collected within them. Then, the worlds with the biggest changes and almost don't seem to be part of that particular universe are on the edge of the universe. All of the universes are lined up like this, and some people even have the ability to jump from each universe."

"Time's like that, too." Phineas added in. "All of the timelines from the different universes run along each other, with convergence points along the way that link them all together. However, some will hit, and some won't."

"The part he got wrong was about the people being able to jump from universe to universe." The Songbird replied. "They only send their consciousnesses there. So, I can be in this world physically, but I'm actually focused on another world in another universe."

"How do they do that?" Vince asked.

"Some can use pictures, while others can use words." The Songbird answered. "I can actually do both."

"So, your magic must be really powerful, then." Isabella said, leaning on the top of the couch from where she sat.

"Yes, Storytellers usually have a lot of magic, usually a combination of being involved with their lives and having magic from the start." The Songbird replied coolly, taking another sip of her tea. "Especially those who have turned."

"'Turned?'" Misti echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"They've strayed away from the path and have turned evil." The Songbird said. "They try to take over an manipulate worlds that are doing just fine on their own, and don't need guidance. You got that mysterious memo about 'them,' right? Well, those people were the ones I escaped from, and they're evil Storytellers. We call them Riddlers. They also want the Elements for themselves to take over all of the Stories they can."

"Wait, so why are they using you in order to do that?" Phineas asked.

The Songbird hesitated, looking straight at Phineas. From his point of view, he could see her eyes, trembling behind a pair of glasses. Her expression was of one of pure terror. She suddenly broke out her trance, looking up. Phineas bent his down abruptly, clutching his head.

"Oh, no." She muttered. She stood up and walked over to the door. "Vince, Misti, take the Elements and get them somewhere safe. They've found me, and are most likely after them, too."

"What?" Phineas asked. "But, you're going to need help!"

"I'll be fine on my own." She said, holding up a hand of cards. "I have offensive powers, as well."

"She's right, Phineas." Isabella added, taking his hand gently. "Right now, we have no control of our powers, and how much energy to use when we're fighting. We'll just be doing more harm than good if we get involved." She silently lead him over to the van, where Vince, Misti, and Ferb were waiting.

At that moment, two portals opened in front of the Songbird and Emily, who had made sure that Vivian was also safe inside of her house. The young woman, probably no older than the Songbird, lunged towards her, reaching out towards her. Both Emily and the Songbird dodged, jumping opposite ways. The young Storyteller pulled out her deck of cards again, which she threw on the ground in front of the woman. The card exploded into a wall of flames that surrounded her.

The young man that had arrived through the second portal ran towards the two of them next, and the Songbird rushed towards him, brandishing another card. She threw the card, this time near the man, and grabbed it again, this time sending a strong gust of wind around her and Emily, pushing him back. Eventually, it shoved him into the air and into the fire cage, causing the cage to collapse. The Songbird jumped back, holding up a third card.

However, the woman she had trapped had other plans.

She grabbed the card and the Songbird's arm, causing the cards to scatter everywhere. The man ran over as well, and held her arms as she struggled against him. The woman made the cards disappear, smiling with an expression of insane glee. The Songbird went limp, her eyes wide open and opaque.

Meanwhile, Emily was just about to get into the van, Phineas holding out his hand for her to grab, when from a portal opened behind her and a young man with dark blue hair that went down to the middle of his back and shielded his eyes from view stepped out. He grabbed her, and Emily screamed as he walked back into the portal, changing shape. Her hair changed, from blonde to black, and became shorter, barely reaching the base of her jaw. Her clothes were different, as well, now a long black form fitting dress covered in lace.

"Emily!" Isabella yelled, only to be pulled back by Phineas and Ferb. They watched in horror as Emily and the Songbird vanished before their eyes, the portals they went through gone.

"There was no time, besides, it was way too dangerous." Phineas said as they let go of her. "I'm sorry..."

* * *

><p>The Songbird was roughly shoved into her cage, being held by her scalp by Andressa. She locked the cage and took a step back, smirking.<p>

"Now, be a good little girl and stay." Andressa sneered, putting extra emphasis on the word 'stay.' "You're way too much trouble out of your cage."

Andressa left, tossing in her sketchbook, and the Songbird put her knees up to her chest, trying not to cry. She looked over at Emily, who was still unconscious.

"I'm so sorry, Emily..." She whispered, then finally broke down, and cried. "I'll always be trapped here...always trapped in this cage...!"

* * *

><p>Misti walked down the street. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella had already gone to their respective houses, and Misti was too stressed to deal with Vince at the moment. Sure, he was her husband, but he hated seeing her under so much stress.<p>

She stopped at the corner of a busy street, and waited for a taxi. When she spotted one, she waved it down and got in.

"Jamie's Tavern, please." She said wearily. It was almost kind of like her relaxation spot. She and the bartender, Greg, had been good childhood friends and he had even been a little involved with the Elements Project, at that.

Misti got out of the taxi and payed her fare. Jamie's was a small, hole in the wall that didn't get many customers. Perhaps that was why Misti like it so much. The intimacy of it all and the fact that it honestly hid a few secrets of its own that would never leave the walls made her feel safe and comfortable.

She walked in, the small bell on the door ringing softly. Greg looked up and smiled. He brushed his black hair out of his face, the thin, silky strands still escaping his grasp and falling back into his eyes. He had a very feminine frame, even with his face. However, his voice was a very dusky tenor, which often made new customers gasp with shock when they heard him speak.

"Misti, long time, no see." He said. "So, what drove you back here?"

This was how most of their conversations started. It was actually rare now for Misti to go over to Jamie's, so Greg would just start with what made her so upset to go there in the first place.

"The Elements Project." Misti said, hanging her head slightly. "The Elements Project has been revived, Greg."

Greg looked up at Misti in surprise. "Well, I'm sorry, but you're not receiving my help on it. After what happened before with that thing, I'm even trying not to think of it anymore."

"I'm sorry, too, Greg." Misti replied. "But, things have just gotten all the more complicated since that time. Recently, and now even more so, I'm thinking about shutting the entire project down. I wouldn't terminate the test subjects, of course, but probably erase their memories of today, and strip them of their powers. Something simple like that."

Greg sighed and sat down next to his friend. "But, is that what you truly want to do?" Misti looked up. "I can see it in your eyes. You really care about those kids, don't you? You want to watch their powers develop, and see them grow, just like all those years ago."

"But, it's too dangerous for them..." Misti whispered.

"They can control their powers even better than before." Greg countered.

"One of them has been captured, as well." Misti responded, facing him.

"They'll fight their way out." Greg said. He grasped her hands in his. "Look, Misti, they can take care of themselves. I know that, and so do you. You just have to be stronger than you think you are."

Misti thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You're right, Greg. I know they can do this. Thank you."

She walked out of Jamie's, filled with determination and hope. She knew that the four of them would be alright, and that they could it make it on their own.

They had no choice but to, after all.


	5. Chapter 4

**I have no regrets whatsoever when writing this chapter. None.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Escape plan<strong>

* * *

><p>Emily slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a rather large room with a beautiful golden cage in the center. The room had windows on all sides, as well, one with an astounding view of their world. The other side had a small swirling vortex on it, filled with the aura of darkness.<p>

"Glad to see you awake." The Songbird said. Emily was startled to see her in the cage, her hood off, revealing her long, silky dark imperial violet hair, put into two high ponytails, swirling around her on the floor of the cage. "Listen, we need to escape from here." As she said this, she was drawing in a sketchbook, her pale hazel eyes glowing softly. "I'm setting up a diversion in another one of the worlds I control." Emily sat up and crawled over to the cage. The drawing on the page was of somebody sitting in an office, looking around with a frightened expression.

"I kind of already guessed that." Emily replied, leaning on the bars of the cage. "So, what exactly happened I tried to get everybody out?"

"You turned into your Despair Forme." The Songbird said, looking up from her drawing and closing her sketchbook. "It allowed you to go into this world unharmed."

"What would've happened if I didn't turn into my Despair Forme?" Emily asked. She stood up and began walking around the cage, looking for a way to open it.

The Songbird looked down slightly and opened her sketchbook again. "The darkness used in the ability to open the portal would've destroyed you. The only ones who can go through without too much harm are the ones with darkness fully piercing in their hearts. But, even then, it can cause problems, but can be fixed by using a powerful antitoxin or spell. Luckily, there are special cloaks that conceal others from the effects, so they can pass through safely."

Emily nodded, then looked over to the swirling vortex in the farther window. "By the way...that vortex. What is it? I sense a lot of dark energy coming from it."

"The way out to the other worlds." The Songbird answered. "Most Storytellers would actually have to go to that world in order to manipulate it. However, I figured out that given enough growth in your magical abilities, and it's unnecessary to do so. You can be in one world and still manipulate another at the same time."

Emily found a small latch on the cage, pulled it to the side, and opened the cage. The Songbird looked up, then smiled gently.

"You can tell me more about all this once we're back home." Emily said, reaching out her hand. "Now, come on. Just because you're a songbird doesn't mean you have to be locked in a cage all the time."

* * *

><p>Phineas lounged on his bed, looking at his necklace in a strange sort of interest. Ferb sighed as looked over at him again, and continued reading his book. It was a quite strange look for him, due to the fact that it was an almost numb expression of child-like wonder. A look that never really crossed the red head's face, and was quite concerning when it did.<p>

Phineas finally sighed and sat up, tucking his necklace in his shirt. "Hey, Ferb, I'd say we'd better hide these necklaces for now. And our powers. We wouldn't want to freak Mom and Dad, after all." Ferb nodded, and Phineas continued talking. "To me, this has all been very sudden..." Ferb closed his book and looked at him. He laid down on his bed again, playing with a small ball of fire in his hands above his head. "Doesn't this sound strange? It's just a normal day for us, when all of this happens. A great power that has been lying dormant within us has now awoken, and we now have to fight for our lives in a suddenly darker version of our world." He caused the ball of fire to disappear. "It's all so strange to me, how all of this came to pass at this exact moment..."

Candace knocked on the door, and told them that dinner was ready. She twisted a small silver armband on her left shoulder slightly, then walked downstairs slowly, softly touching the banister as she lightly stepped from one stair to another, looking slightly unfocused. The boys looked at each other for a moment, then followed her downstairs silently. Linda and Laurence were already sitting down, Linda serving herself and her husband some salad, beef flank and cauliflower on everybody's plates.

Candace sat down at the table with them and began eating her cauliflower. Phineas sat down and asked for some salad, and Ferb began cutting into his beef flank.

"You three are silent tonight." Linda remarked, spearing a cucumber onto her fork. "Did something happen?"

"Well, Jeremy has the chance of getting a promotion to lead manager at Slushy Dawg." Candace replied. "He's pretty excited about it."

"Yes, that sounds promising." Laurence said.

"He was thinking about eventually buying his own apartment." Candace added, taking a bite of beef flank. "Probably near the college he gets accepted into."

"Are you planning to move in with him at one point?" Phineas asked as he ate some of his salad.

"Yeah, probably." Candace said. The table fell silent as everybody stopped eating and put their utensils down. "I mean, we are dating and all, so that would be the next step in our relationship logically. I'm just talking years ahead. We're in no hurry to move things along, after all."

The house phone in the kitchen rang, and Linda got up, sighing and muttering softly. After a few minutes of soft talking, she came back out, holding the phone in her hand and hanging up.

"Do you know where Emily is, boys?" Linda asked. "Her father just called. She didn't come home, and hasn't called at all. I know you were with her, Ferb. Do you know where she might be?" Ferb shook his head softly. "Well, we should probably look for her after dinner. I can look for her with Laurence around downtown, and Candace, you take Phineas and Ferb to some of the parks. Phineas, tell Isabella about what's going on, and ask her to help, too, please."

"Alright, then." Phineas said, and got out his phone to text Isabella.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Isabella stood on one of the thick tree branches in Danville Park. The nights had started to get colder, so she wore a loose dark brown long coat over her dress, which whipped around her softly in the now growing gusts of wind that surrounded the park.<p>

"Still nothing..." She muttered softly, looking at her phone. She had sent about seven text messages to Emily, none of them receiving a reply. Isabella put her phone back into her jacket pocket and sighed, leaning her back against the tree. She could feel the energy moving from the earth out to the tips of the leaves against her back, like small beads of water moving up her body. She closed her eyes, and saw herself flowing through space, a large spaceship looming in front of her. She walked towards the ship, phasing through the walls.

Inside the ship was a large room, in which there was nothing but white. A young girl floated above a table, in suspended animation. Wires looped around her arms and torso, and spiraled on the inside and outside of her legs. Around her head was a large, bulky looking headpiece, attached to the top of her head and forehead. Her pale salmon pink hair flowed around her, curling at the end. She wore a beautiful white dress with sleeves going to her elbows and the skirt going just below her knees, with several layers going farther down in the back, with lace on the trim.

Isabella circled around the girl when she suddenly woke up, the wires snapping off and the headpiece falling apart. She fell backwards, and Isabella instinctively grabbed her hand, the girl pulling her down with her, screaming as they fell into darkness, her pale hazel eyes wide and trembling with fright.

Isabella held onto the girl's hands when she felt herself get pulled back by something. She looked up to see a pair of cool grey wings unfurled from her back and slow their fall. When she looked down back at the girl again, she saw that they were flying above a city at night, several lights blinking in the distance. The girl let go of Isabella's hand and unfurled her own wings, a beautiful pair of white wings, and motioned for her to follow. They flew to an old house, where a young girl sat a a small desk, writing in a composition book. She hummed softly to herself, smiling, until there was a loud knock on the door. The young girl looked up in shock, then crawled underneath the desk, taking the composition book and holding it close to her chest. The door burst open, and the world faded into white, ringing echoing in Isabella's ears.

When the ringing finally faded, Isabella opened her eyes to find herself back in the park, still standing against the tree. She stepped away from the base of the tree and jumped down, landing on the grass softly. Phineas, who was still looking around, holding a flashlight in his hands, stopped and sat down underneath the tree. Isabella joined him and sighed.

"I'm really glad that so many people have come out here to look for Emily." Isabella said. Ferb came over and nodded as he sat down next to Isabella. "Even if we're the only ones that actually know what happened to her, it's nice to know that people care, despite the fact that she's only been in Danville for about a month and a half now."

"That's how people are here." Phineas said as he watched the people stop others and ask them if they've seen their friend. "Once they welcome someone, they're there for you thick and thin. If something happens to one person, something happens to everyone. We're all connected that way."

Isabella nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. "Yes, I suppose we are..."

* * *

><p>Emily and the Songbird walked through the silent hallway, Emily in her Despair Forme.<p>

"Look, I'm sorry if something happens to you, but if anything does, I'm running." The Songbird whispered to Emily. "The plan to sneak out clearly took a turn for the worse."

"Yes, it did." Emily whispered back. "By the way, is this the world that you were causing a diversion in earlier?" The Songbird nodded. "What kind of sick, twisted world did you drag me into?" She gasped as she turned around slightly and saw the wall art was of a bunch of children with thick lines running down their faces, their mouths open in shocked screams.

"A world that not many people can control without dying." The Songbird replied, then looked behind her. "Quick, run!"

The two girls ran down the hall and took the first door on their left, ending up in a small supply closet. Thick, heavy footsteps sounded outside of the door. The Songbird began whispering something to herself, too low for Emily to hear. The footsteps stopped just outside of the door, and the Songbird stopped whispering and almost seemed to freeze in place.

After a while, the footsteps were back, and walked back down the hallway. The Songbird let out a sigh of relief and grabbed Emily's hand.

"It's gone. We can get out of here." She said. Emily didn't respond. "Hey, Emily, didn't you hear me? We can get out of this world...!"

Emily looked down at the ground. "It's me..." She whispered softly. The lights flickered for a bit, then turned off. "I'm still here..." A music box melody began to play over the speakers, and the Songbird began drawing something in her sketchbook, whispering the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

* * *

><p>Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet walked through Danville Park, dejected. The police were now taking over the investigation, and they had forced to sit through questioning, making Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella feel guilty for lying about Emily's whereabouts.<p>

"The ice cream guy's still out here at this hour...?" Isabella asked.

"Well, I saw Ferb and Emily getting ice cream this afternoon, so he was probably dragged out for questioning, too." Baljeet explained. "They have a new flavor, too. Sea salt ice cream."

Phineas perked up slightly. "They brought back that flavor? I'm impressed." The other four looked at him slightly. "For some reason, they discontinued the sea salt ice cream. It was Dad's favorite, too. Um, my past dad, not the dad I have now."

"You remember a lot about your biological father, Phineas." Isabella said. "I don't remember mine that much, but I think I was younger than you when he left. Yeah, that must be it. It was such a long time ago, it almost seems like a dream at this point..."

"Hey, are we gonna get ice cream, or just continue staring at the guy over there?" Buford asked.

"Yeah, Buford's right." Isabella added. "Ice cream might just be the thing to cheer us up. I want to try the sea salt flavor! Or, if they have it, maybe a sakura flavor. That'd be really nice."

"But, cherry blossoms only bloom in the spring." Baljeet corrected her. "You missed your chance to get any."

"Yeah, but there's always greenhouse grown sakura ice cream." Isabella rebutted. "How else do you think we can get berries and fruit all year round?"

"Yes, but greenhouse grown produce is not the same as freshly grown, in season produce!" Baljeet protested.

As the two of them argued, Phineas placed his order for the ice cream.

"Two sea salt ice creams, one watermelon flavor, one chocolate swirl, and one vanilla, please." Phineas said. He paid for the treats, and he and Ferb handed them out to his friends-vanilla for Ferb, chocolate for Buford, and watermelon for Baljeet, and the second sea salt for Isabella. They were silent as they walked through the street, eating. A soft wind blew through the street, and a strange aura pulsated throughout the area. Isabella stopped, holding her popsicle stick.

"Emily..." She whispered, and held the popsicle stick close to her chest, letting the wind blow around her. She walked down a small alley, and the others shortly followed.

The alleys were somewhat connected in this part of downtown, and the five friends wove through them, climbing over trash cans and under old fences, Isabella leading the way, following the aura that rippled throughout the path they walked through.

After a while, she stopped. "Wait, there's something else here, too."

"Hey, Dinner Bell, what exactly are we following?" Buford asked. Phineas, however, was also distracted. He joined his friend and placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around.

"There's a pungent scent of darkness around here, like it's been festering within somebody's heart." Phineas whispered. "Is that what you're seeing in the aura we've been following?"

Isabella nodded. "Also, I've been a getting a series of strange sounds, like radio feedback and static. Sometimes I can hear voices. It's an old automated voice, spelling out the words 'save her,' then a quiet whisper saying 'you can't.' I'm not sure of what it means, but I can feel something in the air. Something that shouldn't really be there. It has a faint feel to it, though..." A soft wind blew through her hair, and she pulled her hand through it. "An air from another world, maybe..."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Steadying panic and a name at last**

* * *

><p>The Songbird took a few steps back, then put her hood on over her head, slowly letting out a deep breath. A powerful aura surrounded the two of them, lifting Emily off the ground, slowly falling unconscious. The aura got absorbed into her body, and a flood of black smoke came pouring out in thick tendrils, a strong stench of darkness emanating from them. The Songbird dropped to the ground, panting slightly, and Emily softly drifted to the floor, back in her normal appearance. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, slightly dazed.<p>

"What happened to me...?" She asked softly. She saw the Songbird and crawled over to her when the closet door opened, a frightening silhouette before them, their shadow stretching across the pair, shrouding them in darkness. Both girls were paralyzed out of fear on the spot, neither making a single sound.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Isabella asked, pulling the two of them off the floor. "You both look as if you just saw a ghost or something."

"Well, 'saw' wouldn't be the exact word there..." The Songbird said sheepishly, laughing nervously. "To be honest, 'ghost' wouldn't fit in this situation, either. But, how'd you get in here?"

"I followed this strange aura I kept sensing to this old abandoned building." Isabella explained. "Once I got in, I just waited for the lights to come back on and followed your and Emily's aura to this supply closet."

"Where the heck were you waiting?!" The Songbird asked, incredulous.

"Over by the main entrance. Nothing came even close to me the entire time." Isabella answered. "I think there's some kind of force field around that area."

The Songbird sighed and the three of them left, blinking and letting their eyes adjust to the evening streetlights back in Danville. Phineas, Ferb, and the others surrounded them, Buford and Baljeet asking where they were, and who the Songbird was. They didn't comment, and Emily only requested that she would be taken home to go to sleep. As Buford and Baljeet left, the other four finally let out a sigh of relief, the Songbird watching as they walked off in silence.

"Though that reminds me." Isabella said. "Since you don't have a name, why don't we give you one?"

"Um, alright." The Songbird replied happily, turning her attention back to the other four. "I think a name would be great for me."

Phineas looked at her, smiling softly with her head tilted to the side peacefully and innocently. "I don't think she really knows how important a name is..." He whispered to Isabella.

"I guess that proves how innocent and sheltered she really is, huh?" Isabella whispered back. "We still need to come up with a name for her, though. Something that reflects how innocent and cute she is, but is still dignified." They started walking down the street, Phineas putting his hands behind his head, the Songbird following closely behind the four.

"I'm stumped. I can't come up with a good name, either." Emily said. "Ferb, do you have any ideas?" Ferb shook his head. "The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Ava, for some odd reason. It was probably on one of those weird posters, that's why..."

"You know, I think Ava fits her." Phineas said.

"I agree." Isabella said, nodding.

"Alright then, I guess it's settled." Emily said, turning around and facing the Songbird. "From now on, you have a name to call yourself by, and that name is going to be Ava."

"Ava..." Ava said, tasting the word. "I like it. It's cute, but still mature enough for someone like me. Thank you for giving me a name, and one as pretty as Ava... Thank you very much..." Ava then took off her coat, revealing to everyone her long beautiful hair, and a gorgeous short black dress with a fitted A-line haltered bodice and ruffled tiered skirt that went to her midthighs, as well as knee high black laced boots. "I don't think I'll be needing to wear this thing anytime soon, anyways. I'm glad..."

"Well, then, welcome to Danville, Ava." Phineas said. "I guess you can stay with Misti and Vince for the time being. Be sure to visit our house from time to time. I'm sure you'll love our inventions!"

"Will do." Ava replied, smiling. "I'll come by tomorrow, so see you then?"

"Alright." Phineas said. "See you tomorrow!"

With those words, Ava said farewell to her new friends and ran off towards Vince and Misti, who were waiting in the park for them to come back. Laughing and smiling, they told themselves that tomorrow was going to be another normal day, and that everything was going to be fine.

But, that was far from the truth, starting with the thing that followed Emily and Ava home.

* * *

><p>Ava sat alone in her new bedroom in the scientists' apartment. The apartment was quite big, with two bedrooms and an actual living room that didn't have another room inside of it. She wrote in a small composition notebook, only seeing by the small desk lamp in the corner. She occasionally opened her sketchbook to a certain page and wrote even faster.<p>

"The Story's becoming more and more entangled..." She whispered as she wrote. "But, why? Was it because of what I did? These two Stories would destroy each other if they ever touched, but...if I can merge them, yes, just slightly merge them piece by piece, then I can create a new Story from this. A new Story all my own... A Story I can control all by myself, without them watching me every step of the way..." As she wrote, thick black tendrils of magic surrounded her and glowed softly as she weaved together a new Story for everyone to enjoy, created from a simple mistake and turned into a masterpiece.

From behind the door, which was opened slightly, Misti watched silently and something in the back of her mind told her that she really shouldn't trust this girl, no matter how nice she seemed.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter has yet another convergence point, which is basically a moment in which one story ties into another story's timeline, and kinda screws some things up.<strong>

**In a good way, though.**

**So, basically, this is a point in the story that meets up with a future story I'm planning on writing, like the one in the first chapter. There's not much I can tell you about these convergence points, but if you're observant enough, you might figure where and what they link to.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Scrambled memories of mangled dreams**

* * *

><p>Phineas woke up in an empty field of white. As he stood up, everything changed around him to a lovely sunset in the middle of a park. A father and son walked on the small path he was standing next to, the son practically dragging his father somewhere. The scene suddenly changed, static and loud feedback emitting from all around. When it finally stopped, the boy was all alone, looking around for his father, who had disappeared.<p>

Phineas looked at the boy, then heard footsteps behind him. He leaped back slightly when he realized it was just a young girl, and became less aggressive and on guard. The young girl wore a pretty white dress that blew around her ankles with spaghetti straps and pink ribbons in the back. Her pale salmon hair was down, and reached the middle of her back. She held in her hands a small white glowing orb of some sort, which she rocked back and forth from hand to the other slowly, her eyes following it softly, as if she was in a daze.

"What is that?" Phineas asked her. The girl, still playing with the orb, sat down on the grass, which blew around her softly as she did so. Phineas did the same.

"This is a special thing I was given." She replied, her voice light, but in monotone. "I was given it to help this world. You see, in this world, things are neither created nor destroyed. We simply exist here."

Phineas looked around him to see that the world had changed yet again. It was just a grassy hillside, the grass moving and bending in the wind.

"So, why am I here, then?" Phineas asked. "Why do I exist in this world that cannot create, and cannot destroy?"

The girl was silent, still entranced by the small orb of light. The sky dimmed slightly with clouds.

"Why do you exist in this world?" Phineas asked. The girl slowly looked up.

"To help you escape it." The girl replied, and gasped as a fierce wind blew through the hillside. She held the orb close to her chest, not wanting to lose it. "I'm sorry, for all the things that are going to happen to you..."

The redhead stood up, about to ask something, when the wind grew even stronger. He was swept off his feet and carried away, everything around him fading to white.

* * *

><p>Ferb woke up to hear Phineas groaning, not on his bed, but right off the side of it, laying on his stomach, half asleep. He obviously had had a bad dream and fallen off again.<p>

"Morning, Ferb." Phineas sleepily greeted as he stood up. "Man, that was a weird dream...it felt so lifelike, too. Maybe that was the strangest thing about it. Yeah, that had to be it..." He stretched and rummaged through his closet, looking for something to wear. Ferb sent a small wind current to blow through his hair, making him look up. "I'm guessing you want me to talk about it, huh? Well, you see, it started off fine..."

As Phineas talked, Ferb's mind slowly shifted to Ava and Emily. He had felt something in their auras, but he just wasn't sure what. He sighed as he tugged his shirt on. Perhaps the day's big idea would take the worry off his mind.

"Also, I've been thinking a lot lately." Phineas said as he tied his hightops. "Several memories have been coming back to me, but they just don't feel the same, you know? It's like my mind's gotten them mixed up or something." He said this as they walked down the stairs to breakfast, where Laurence was already sitting at the table, enjoying a hot cup of earl grey.

"Well, our minds tend to do that sometimes." Laurence said to Phineas. "If the memory wasn't particularly, well, memorable, or if it was a long while ago, we tend to either forget it completely or remember certain details and fill in the blank space with other mismatched memories."

"I know that, Dad, but these memories are coming back entirely, and there's just something off about them. In fact, I shouldn't even be able to remember them." Phineas explained as he got out some cinnamon raisin bread, eggs, and milk. "They're all about my biological father. Some I can understand, like him and me walking through the park, or getting sea salt ice cream together. Those are just pieces, things that make sense to remember. But, then there's some weird ones, like the day he died. I can recall everything in that scene clearly. The scent of the rain, and the way the sirens flashed against the water...I remember all of it."

"But, Dad just up and left one day. He didn't die." Candace said as she leaned against the threshold. "I don't know who you're thinking about, Phineas. Besides, I barely remember anything about that day."

Phineas absentmindedly poured some milk into a bowl, which already had eggs in it. "But, then what am I remembering? Candace, what happened the day Isabella moved to Danville?" He started to break up the yolks with a whisk.

"She didn't move here." Candace replied. "Isabella was born here." Phineas put the whisk down in silence. "Phineas, are you feeling okay?"

"What's wrong with my memories...?" He whispered softly. He lifted the whisk again to beat the mixture together, but just stared at the egg yolk dripping off the twines gently.

"Sounds like corruption to me." Ava said, walking in past Candace, startling her. "Yep, a textbook case of memory corruption. Sadly, I have no clue how to get rid it. Sorry." She gently took the bowl and whisk from him and began whisking away.

"Morning, Ava." Candace said. "What are you doing here?"

"You know Ava?" Phineas asked.

"Sorta." Ava replied, putting cinnamon into the mixture. "We met for a little bit when I went over to a 24-hour drugstore to pick up some more composition books for my Story. I'm actually working on a new one right now."

"And what were you doing there, Candace?" Laurence asked. He got up and got out a small frying pan to put on the stove.

"Um...you don't really need to know that...heh..." Candace said nervously, looking at the boys. She got out a small can of non stick spray and sprayed the pan with it. She set the pan down back on the stove and turned the burner on.

"Oh, so you've just met." Phineas said. "I like your new outfit, by the way. Casual, but preppy, right?" Ava was now wearing a form fitting black crop top that just fit over her breasts with silver trim, a pair of black high-waisted shorts, and her knee high boots. Her hair was tied up with black lace in its usual twintails.

"Right on the nose. And thank you for noticing." Ava said as she dipped a piece of bread into the milk and egg mixture and slapped it into the pan.

"You sure like the color black." Candace observed. Compared to the others, she stood out in a dark and somber way. "Um, any reason as to why you wear it all the time...?"

Ava shrugged and turned around to face the teen. "I dunno. I was kind of born into the darkness, I guess. I didn't accept the ways of the dark, of course, I just feel more comfortable embraced in it."

"I see." Candace muttered as she flipped the bread over. "That's very interesting..."

* * *

><p>Emily laid in her bed, looking at a section of wall. It appeared to ripple with some kind of strange force, moving ever so slightly and pulsing with her heartbeat. But, it also drew her in, an invisible claw wrapping around her and pulling. She had been resisting the force calling to her, but it was soon proving to be a challenge to not ignore the voice whispering her name, especially the way it tugged at her hair, gently brushed her fingertips, trying every way to get her to move closer.<p>

Emily finally sat up, the voice only growing stronger. Inching her way off her bed, Emily soon found to no longer have control of her body, and let the claw wrapped around her do the work for her. She slid off the bed with ease and touched the section of wall when a high pitched scream filled the air, causing a series of smoke-like tendrils of darkness to shoot up and surround the girl. She screamed and tried to get away, only to find them everywhere, clouding her vision and causing to stumble.

That was when her father, Cedric Kinney, ran in and saw what was happening. He yelled something, causing a bright aura to emanate and beat inside Emily, the darkness receding from where it came from. When it finally cleared out all the way, Cedric walked over to his daughter and embraced her. Confused, Emily hugged him back, not quite sure what had happened.

"Promise you won't get close to the dark like that again, Emily." He said, trying not to cry. "Promise me that you'll always stay towards the light, my darling..."

"I don't know if I can promise that, Dad." Emily whispered back. "I don't know if I belong to either one, the dark or the light, or even the twilight in between. I don't...really belong to anything..." She broke from the hug and stood up. "I'm sorry, but this is my path, and I must follow it on my own..." With those words, she silently left the room and headed towards the Flynn-Fletcher house.

She needed answers.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Research of the Story

Misti walked into Ava's room after she left. It was a small room, with only a nightstand, bed, and mirror hanging on the door as its main furnishings. It was also filled with several composition books, all with different colors and stacked neatly, the same colors being in the same stacks.

She sighed. There had to be at least five stacks of about an average of ten in the room, some being shorter than others. Misti noticed that the composition book Ava had been carrying was blue, and there were only two other blue books in the room. She decided to start with those.

Blank, of course. They were obviously spares, in case she ran out of room in the first one. There wasn't even a name written on it yet.

Misti stood up again. Black had the most, with probably fifteen, green was the second highest with only about eleven, then red with ten, and yellow with five. Since blue only had one written in it at the moment, it was probably the newest Story.

She grabbed the composition book off the top of the black stack. The last one, of course. She started to dismantle the stack, being careful and observant about where she put each book and where she got them from. Ava would surely notice even a slightest disturbance from her precious book. She appearently got them all from "home," even though she never specified where "home" was.

"Finally, the start of this Story..." Misti whispered as she grabbed the last book lying on the floor. Vince was fast asleep, but right across the hall. She had to be careful about not getting caught. She looked at the cover for the title. " 'Give New Gifts, Give New Life,' huh? Interesting..." Misti began reading and was instantly intrigued. It wasn't what she normally read, but it was still a good read either way. Before she knew it, it had been a few hours later and she had the second composition book on hand for when she finished reading the first one.

"So, we're spying on our new roommate, are we?" Vince asked as he walked in, leaning on the doorway.

Misti jumped and looked up. "I just wanted to know more about this Story she kept talking about. Hey, could you check out the green ones, or something else? I want to know which one is our Story, and what's going to happen in it."

Vince walked over the formidable looking stacks of books. "It's probably the red ones. Although, I don't think snooping in our Story will help us. It might just make things worse in the future, you know. We shouldn't look in that one... So, you said to look in the green ones? I'm guessing that the first one is all the way at the bottom..." He added, looking down at Misti, surrounded by books. She had put down the first one and was starting the second. Vince moved the stack to the side and grabbed the first before moving them back.

"What's yours called?" Misti asked as she turned another page.

"Um, the writing's kind of smeared on the cover." Vince said. He opened the book anyway. "It's fine on the inside, though..." He read the first page, then closed it. "Can we switch? The very first scene is kinda...bloody. Very bloody."

"How so?" Misti asked, still reading.

"Um...the scene was describing...something weird, let me read it again real quick..." Vince replied, gingerly opening the book.

"Well, then, Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!" Phineas said, smiling. They were under the tree, Isabella trying to look over Ava's shoulder as she wrote. Emily walked into the backyard, Buford, Baljeet, and Irving in tow.

"I heard that somebody's already thought up their big idea for the day." She greeted them. "So, what do you have planned?"

"Well, I was just looking at Ava and how content she looked while writing, and I thought, what if we made a machine to act out whatever we wrote in a giant glass sphere above us, so we could watch whatever we wrote like a movie?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Isabella said, smiling. "I think it'd be cool."

"It would require several advanced mechanics of string theory, physics, and mechanics, but it should be no problem at all." Baljeet said. "By the way, Phineas, you've been avoiding my question who the girl writing underneath your tree is since last night."

"Oh, yeah, you did ask that, that's right." Phineas said. "So, what'd you want to know about her?"

"Who is that chick, dude?" Buford asked. "Why is she always hanging around you and stuff?"

"My name is Ava." Ava said behind them. The boys jumped and turned around. "I'm a travelling writer, and I've decided to spend a few weeks here at Danville." She smiled politely. "It's very nice to meet the three of you."

"Oh, yes." Irving replied. "I'm Irving, and that's Buford and Baljeet." He pointed to the two of them in turn. "I wouldn't have taken you to be a travelling writer, though. Don't writers dress a little...colorful...or creatively?"

"My writing style's quite dark." Ava shortly said. "I guess you could call me a goth, maybe... I'm not sure, really."

"You're quite young to be travelling on your own like this." Buford said. "Or, at least, you _look _young."

Ava laughed. It was a light, pretty laugh. "Well, yes, yes I am quite young to be doing this. I'm only sixteen, after all. My parents died when I was younger."

"Oh, I see." Baljeet replied. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Ava looked as though to say something, but then stopped and looked down slightly. "Um, no, no siblings. None at all..." She looked up and clapped her hands lightly. "Well, don't we have a project to start? We should finish it while we still have the morning, so we can enjoy it all afternoon." She looked around a little. "Oh? Hey, where's Perry?"

"Oh, so you've told her about Perry, too?" Baljeet asked Phineas. "That's nice of you."

Ava mouthed the words 'I did recon' to Phineas, and Phineas nodded in reply. "Yeah, I did. She came here a little earlier in the morning and saw him, so I explained to her that he usually disappeared during the day and such." He stood up and walked over to the garage. "I'm going to get started on the blueprints. Buford, why don't you help Ava get situated, and the rest of you guys can get parts." Ferb followed him, and they began sketching out their plans.

Perry walked over to the couch, looked around, and satisfied, crawled underneath it, putting on his fedora and found a small button. He pressed the button, then waited.

Nothing.

Perry went to press it again when a large hole opened up beneath him, causing him to fall down sharply. Holding onto his fedora, the secret agent flipped backward just in time to hit a small slide, which dropped him in his secret headquarters, two steps away from his chair. Perry glared slightly at Major Monogram, who was already on the screen.

"What?" The major asked. "Oh, yes, about that. We thought we had it calibrated correctly, but I guess we were just a little off..." He blinked, Perry still standing beside his chair. "S-sit down, Agent P., please. You know how nervous it makes me when you're just...like that." Perry sighed and obeyed. "Thank you. Ahem, Dr. Doofensmirtz has recently been purchasing books on mechatronics, wiring and programming, alliteration, and cuddly animal mascots. This is certainly not a good combination. You know what to do." Perry saluted and left through his hovercar, heading over to Doofensmirtz's.

Candace greeted Stacy as she walked through the front door when she answered it with a hug.

"Somebody's in a good mood today." Stacy said. "Nice armband. Oh, hey, how'd your date with Jeremy go? I heard something weird happened at the mall."

"Yeah, it did." Candace said as the two girls walked up the stairs together. "Though, to be honest, I don't remember what happened all that well. I remember finding this armband, then seeing Phineas, but then, everything just kind of got really hazy. When I could concentrate again, I was back in my room, laying on my bed. Apparently, Jeremy carried me up to my room."

"Aw, that's so gentlemanly of him!" Stacy said. They entered Candace's room, and Stacy grabbed Candace's computer. "You're so lucky to have such a knightly boyfriend."

"I think the word is 'chivalrous,' Stacy." Candace corrected. "And by the way, what's that supposed to mean? You and Coltrane are getting along well, right?" She gently took the computer away, entered the password, and gave it back.

"Well, yeah, but I mean...well, you know..." Stacy cautiously said. "You don't think Jeremy was trying to...you know, _do _something?"

"No!" Candace protested. "No, he would never do that. I know you're watching out for me, Stace, but honestly, Jeremy really isn't that type of guy. Wait, why'd you ask? Coltrane didn't do that to you, did he?"

"No, but, he was ready, and I wasn't really ready, and then he just got really quiet all of a sudden." Stacy explained. "I apologized, at least ten times, and to his face, too! Then he just held me really, really close and was all like 'I don't want to rush you,' and all of that. I mean, what do I do to make up for that? I mean, I want to be responsible about this and all, but if wants to, and I don't..."

"Then he can just wait." Candace responded, sitting in her windowsill. "If he can't, dump him right then and there." She turned her head to outside the window. "In the meantime, I have another issue to deal with, and I don't mean my brothers...but they are going to be busted today. I can feel it..."

* * *

><p><em>Doofensmirtz Evil Incorporated!<em>

Agent P leapt off his hovercar, which neatly parked itself a few feet away, and walked in through the balcony, where he was greeted by not Doofensmirtz, but by a small camera monitor, placed on a platypus-sized stand. He looked into the camera, which instantly went black. The agent looked around, slightly panicked, as he saw that the entire room was now dark, and an eerie face was looking at him from the corner, an equally eerie, but at the same time, happy sounding, music box playing over some speakers somewhere. The music box suddenly stopped after a few seconds, however, and the sound of footsteps echoed from nearby.

Agent P stood completely still, hoping that whatever was there, most likely Doofensmirtz, would pop out and grab him, and put him into a trap.

He was half right.

Whatever it was, it _did _jump out and grab him, it just didn't put him into a trap, and it certainly wasn't Doofensmirtz.

Instead, it was a giant robotic squirrel, and it held him tight as three other robot animals ran out of the shadows. A cat, a beaver, and...Norm wearing a stupid looking bear costume that didn't even fit him properly, it looked like. However, this was just as one of the robots pulled the curtains closed, rendering what little sight Perry had useless. Before his sight completely faded, the platypus could tell that Doofensmirtz probably hadn't them wired them correctly, as they all looked quite insane.

"I'm here to make sure nothing bad happens to whoever we capture." Norm said happily, oblivious to the other robot's somewhat crazed looks. It especially wasn't helping that the squirrel was starting to hold Agent P a little _too _tightly. He let out a nervous chatter and lightly slapped his tail on the robot's torso. Unfortunately, it was mostly hidden due to it being behind him, and up, so it just resulted in the squirrel hugging him tighter.

"We're going to have such a fun time." The squirrel said happily, spinning around in a circle. "Our new friend is going to be such a good edition to the band!" To Agent P's surprise, the squirrel was a girl, her voice bright and bubbly.

"I agree, Syd." Another robot said. It was still dark in the room, and the only one who probably couldn't see at the moment was the one who was captured. Either way, it was a make, and its voice sounding especially cartoonish and goofy sounding. It was already beginning to drive Perry up a wall, and it was more evident when it continued talking. "But you know we have for the boss to get back. What if this is the thing he was having us capture?"

"Aw, you're no fun, Barry." A third voice piped up. Another girl. Her voice was slightly more sassy, almost teenager-like, than the other's. A cold robotic hand touched Perry's hand, and he shivered. "One little morsel is all we want..."

"We could share that little morsel, too." The squirrel added. "I mean, he's _so _tiny, and we're _so _hungry..."

"Well, let's for the boss, and then we can all have a little morsel together." Norm said. The three other robots agreed.

Perry hoped that Doofensmirtz would hurry up. He missed his nemesis, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with these robots.


End file.
